Many different types of microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices, such as variable capacitors, electromechanical gratings and mirrors, inkjet printheads, and a variety of sensors, rely on electrostatic forces between two electrodes to produce controlled actuation of a movable member. However, as is well known, continuous control of the displacement of the movable member is only possible over a fraction (approximately ⅓) of the distance between the two electrodes because of the nonlinear nature of the electrostatic forces. Once the displacement exceeds this fraction, “pull-in” or “pull-down” occurs, whereby the nonlinear electrostatic force completely overwhelms the mechanical restoring force of the member.
Different approaches have been used to produce continuously variable displacement in electrostatic MEMS devices while avoiding the pull-down instability. The most straightforward is to design the device with a large enough separation between the two electrodes, thereby enabling sufficient displacement before reaching the instability point. This approach has been used by Silicon Light Machines in their analog Grating Light Valve (GLV), as described by Bloom et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,579, entitled Method and Apparatus for Modulating an Incident Light Beam for Forming a Two-Dimensional Image, issued Apr. 10, 2001. To avoid high operating voltages caused by increased electrode separation, these analog GLVs are specifically designed to have low mechanical restoring forces. Alternatively, a more complex structural design can be used in an electromechanical grating to obtain continuous actuation over a larger travel range, as described by Hung et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,738, entitled Precision Electrostatic Actuation And Positioning, issued Dec. 11, 2001 and in E. S. Hung and S. D. Senturia, “Extending the Travel Range of Analog-Tuned Electrostatic Actuators,” Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 8, No. 4, pgs. 497-505 (1999). Another alternative is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,362,018, entitled Method for Fabricating MEMS Variable Capacitor with Stabilized Electrostatic Drive, by Xu et al., issued Mar. 26, 2002, whereby a fixed series capacitor is added to a variable MEMS capacitor in order to extend the electromechanical tunability of the variable capacitor. A disadvantage of this last approach is that the required actuation voltage is raised significantly.
Recently, an electromechanical conformal grating device, an optical MEMS device consisting of ribbon elements suspended above a substrate by a periodic sequence of intermediate supports was disclosed by Kowarz in U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,663, entitled Spatial Light Modulator With Conformal Grating Device, issued Oct. 23, 2001. The electromechanical conformal grating device is operated by electrostatic actuation, which causes the ribbon elements to conform around the support substructure, thereby producing a grating. The device of '663 has more recently become known as the conformal GEMS device, with GEMS standing for grating electromechanical system. The conformal GEMS device provides high-speed light modulation with high contrast, good efficiency and digital operation. However, for applications that require amplitude modulation of light intensity, analog operation with continuous control of the displacement of the ribbon elements is needed. In addition, the approaches mentioned earlier for producing continuously variable displacement while avoiding the pull-down instability are ill-suited for the conformal GEMS device.
There is a need, therefore, for an electrostatic microelectromechanical device that has a continuously variable displacement and avoids the problems noted above.